


Vision of Love

by JaneNightwork



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Austin Powers References, Candle Magic, Crack, Crystal Magic, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Humor, Like really this is just a bit of chaotic Halloween fun just go with it, Magic, Magic-Users, Not Beta Read, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey finds that Ben does make her horny baby, When Magic Goes Wrong, When Rose Quartz Attacks, Witches, do not copy to another site, even when he's wearing pleather pants, halloween fic, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 21:02:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21259601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneNightwork/pseuds/JaneNightwork
Summary: Rey and Ben are in love with each other, but neither knows their feelings are requited. Despairing of ever being together, both decide to do a bit of love-magic to improve their love lives this Samhain. What happens when Ben's well-intentioned spell goes horribly wrong, and he transforms into Kylo Ren: pleather-pants wearing, Austin Powers quoting man about town? Will Rey succumb to his charms? And how on earth will she get back her beloved Ben?





	Vision of Love

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: all the crystals mentioned in this story really do represent what I say they do. They will not, however, turn you into Kylo Ren, or Austin Powers. So don't be scared.
> 
> An extra special Halloween Edition Pumpkin Spice Thank You to the ladies who sprinted with me as I wrote this bonkers fic, especially the Queen and Mage of Castle Reylo, [Hydra_bitch_please01](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hydra_bitch_please01/pseuds/Hydra_bitch_please01) and [usethehorserey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/usethehorserey/pseuds/usethehorserey). Our Queen also supplied the beautiful moodboard!

It all began at Finn and Poe’s anniversary, which they held every year a few days before Samhain. The theme (there was always a theme) was The Nineties, which made for an excellent playlist, even if the fashion choices left something to be desired.

Rey flopped down on the couch, her flowing 90s-style maxi skirt fluttering down after her. She’d chosen to dress up like Sarah from _The Craft_, a personal favorite character of hers. “At least witches were popular, so there’s lots of cool people to dress up as,” she said to Ben, who sat in an armchair opposite her.

He nodded. Of all the people from their coven who came to the party, he looked the most different than usual. He’d dressed up as Eric Draven from _The Crow_, his already striking face made even more so by pale makeup and dark lipstick. He looked every bit like a man brought back to life to right wrongs and punish the guilty.

“Yeah, it was a cool decade for us in pop culture. Even if no one knew what the hell they were talking about, really.”

He relaxed back into his chair and eyed her, toying absently with his drink. Then he smirked. “You want me to say it, don’t you?”

“Of course I do! I love that line,” she laughed.

“It can’t rain all the time.”

He said it perfectly—not exactly like Brendan Lee, but taking the words and making them his own with the soft and reassuring tone of his voice.

“Oh my fucking god_,_” said Poe, turning to face them from the other side of Ben’s chair. “Did he just give you the line? Ben! You jerk, you said you wouldn’t say it for anybody!”

Ben shrugged, looking unapologetic.

“You only did it because Rey asked, didn’t you,” he said, narrowing his eyes. Now Ben shifted and looked uncomfortable.

Finn took Poe’s elbow and deftly lead him away from Ben, murmuring something about getting another drink. An actual spat between the childhood friends was unlikely, but all the same Rey had noticed that Ben _hated_ to be teased about how often he showed her his soft side. Finn turned and gave Rey a significant look over his shoulder which she hoped Ben hadn’t seen.

She and Ben always seemed to end up sitting together at parties and social gatherings, and this party was no exception. Soon they were sitting side by side on the couch, talking about anything and everything. Their magic seemed to balance and compliment each others’, and this was not the first time they got lost in hours-long conversations without realizing any time had gone by. Finn and Poe (among others) often teased her about her obvious feelings for him. But Ben didn’t seem to notice, and she didn’t want to push if he didn’t return her feelings.

“Have you been working on anything for Samhain?” he asked. Rey hesitated. Ben saw her expression and raised his brows.

“Yeah I have, but you’ll think it’s stupid.” She finished her drink and stood. “I’m gonna get another. You want anything?”

“Yeah, I want you to tell me what spell you’re working on. But I’ll wait for you to get back to tell me,” he said, with a smile that gave her butterflies.

Rey took her time getting herself another beer. She needed to steel herself; there was nothing wrong with the spell she was working on. If Ben judged her for it, that was a poor reflection on him, not her.

“It’s a love spell,” she announced when she walked back to him, forcing the words out before she could lose her nerve. At his shocked expression, she hastily added, “Not on another person! I’m casting it on me. It’s to help me be more accepting of love, not to compel anyone to love me. I’m—because of my parents, I find it hard to accept that there’s love out there for me, that I’m lovable—anyway! It’s a spell to make me open to love.”

He continued to stare at her, dumbstruck. The makeup made it hard to tell, but she could’ve sworn he went a little pale. When comprehension failed to dawn in his wide eyes, she rushed on.

“I mean at some point I’d like to be, um—in a relationship.” She straightened her posture and raised her eyes from the floor. If she was going to cast a spell to bring love into her life, she needed to not be ashamed of her perfectly normal desires. She needed to own it. “I would like to be in a relationship. I’m working on my childhood stuff in therapy, you know that, but it just feels right to bring spirituality into it, too. And I need to get over—”

She broke off again, wincing. She’d said too much. Ben’s expression changed. He blinked away his astonishment and clenched his jaw, then took a drink to hide the fact that he’d tensed up. As if she wouldn’t notice: since they’d met, she’d become an expert at cataloging Ben’s expressions. She liked to think she’d become an expert at Ben in general. She just wished that he felt the same about her as she did about him. She’d fallen rather helplessly in love with him over the past few years, and she’d kept hoping he’d see her as something more than a friend, but he never did. Her therapist had gently suggested that she was holding onto her feelings for him to avoid the vulnerability of putting herself out there. She was hoping the spell might help her find a way to move on.

“Need to get over?” Ben asked, all careful nonchalance, staring down into his glass.

She opened her mouth to deflect, to say it was just things from her childhood, when he finally looked up at her. His eyes were so sad, so beseeching, that she told the truth (or at least part of the truth) before she could stop herself.

“I need to get over someone. Someone who doesn’t see me the way I see him.”

“What?” Ben’s voice was incredulous. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I think I must be more drunk than I thought. Did I just hear you say that you need to get over someone because they _rejected_ you?”

Rey shrugged, unable to make eye contact. “Yeah. I’m told it happens to everyone.”

Ben snorted. “If you say so. I can’t fucking believe someone would turn you down, Rey. What a moron. Want me to kill him? Should I put Legos beside his bed so he wakes up and steps on them in his bare feet?”

That coaxed a smile out of her despite the awkwardness of the conversation. She shook her head. To change the subject she asked, “What are you working on?”

He drew in a deep breath. “I’m actually working on a love spell, too. Kind of the inverse of yours. You struggle to accept that there’s love for you—and there is, by the way—but my block is in accepting that people want the love I have to offer. Does that make sense? So my spell is about letting myself share my feelings.”

Rey felt a bit queasy at the thought of Ben sharing his feelings with a girl besides herself, but pushed the thought aside. “But you’re such a good friend, such a good _person_. Why do you think no one wants what you have to offer?”

“Snoke,” he said. He looked away as he always did when that name came up. No other words needed to be said. Snoke was the most evil wizard the world had seen for several generations. It was a wonder Ben had escaped with his soul intact. Rey reached out and patted his knee.

“I wish I could put Legos beside his bed. And then murder him right after he stepped on them.”

Ben huffed a laugh, then covered her hand with his. He gave her a soft smile. “What he did to himself is much worse than what any of us could’ve done to him. Don’t worry about him.”

“Anyone would be lucky to be lucky to be loved by you, Ben.”

He smiled, but also rolled his eyes. “I’m okay, Rey. You don’t need to give me platitudes.”

“I’m not—” she huffed, a bit stung since she’d really meant it.

Just then Kaydel walked up and flopped into one of the armchairs opposite them. “I fucking love this song!” She gave a dreamy, dramatic sigh. “Mariah Carey is the greatest. Ooh! Rey! You should use this to finalize your love spell! The lyrics are _perfect_ for it.”

Rey considered. “Vision of Love” was a solid classic, but she’d never thought of using a pop song to focus her magic on, though there was no reason not to: Kaydel did it all the time with great success. She listened to the lyrics.

“You treated me kind, sweet destiny. I’ll be eternally grateful, holding you so close to me. I prayed through the night, so faithfully, knowing the one that I needed would find me eventually. I had a vision of love, and it was all that you’ve given to me.”

Rey found herself nodding as more and more of the words resonated with her. “I like the ‘treated me kind’ bit. That’s important. What do you think, Ben?”

“I think anyone who _doesn’t_ treat you kind shouldn’t be alive, let alone your boyfriend,” he said darkly.

Kaydel snorted, loudly. “So gallant.”

Rey looked over at Ben, who, finding her looking at him, smoothed his expression into a reassuring smile. “I think any spell you cast will serve you, Rey. You are a stronger witch than you know.”

Rey tried not to show how much his praise warmed her heart.

***

Later that week, on Samhain night, Rey gathered her supplies. Garnet for passion. Rose quartz for love. Amethyst for healing. Lapis lazuli for communication. Selenite for spiritual cleansing. Onyx for grounding. She arranged them on her alter around the trinkets she’d collected to represent the elements. For earth, she had the braided willow branches Poe had given her, taken from the tree in the park near her apartment; for water, the plain mug that had been her first gift from Finn. For fire she used a dried ghost pepper grown in Rose’s garden, and for air she used the ornate, sword-shaped letter opener that Ben had given her for her last birthday. She liked that all four of her elements were represented by gifts from her friends.

She lit some incense and the white candle she’d inscribed with her sigil. She took a deep breath and pressed play on “Vision of Love,” which was set to repeat.

“—felt so alone, suffered from alienation—“ Rey raised an eyebrow. This song was a bit more on the nose than she’d realized when she was only giving it a casual listen at the party. Had Kaydel been trying to tell her something? But no, Kaydel was an incredibly intuitive witch. She often said things accidentally that later turned out to be incredibly insightful. This was just another example of her gift for synchronicity.

“Had to be strong, so I believed,” sang Mariah Carey. Rey shifted, not liking the feelings that the words brought up in her. She _did_ have to be strong. It was who she was. Even Ben knew it—he said she was stronger than she knew.

No, she reminded herself. This wasn’t about the walls she put up around herself, and it wasn’t about Ben’s opinion of her. See? The spell was already working, allowing her to confront coping mechanisms she no longer needed.

***

Across town, Ben prepared his own altar. While others in his coven preferred candle work or spell casting, Ben’s speciality was in crystal work. He collected crystal meticulously, and had a knack for knowing which ones called to him—and which ones didn’t. He selected the crystals for his Samhain grid, and then began to put them into a shape. This grid felt like it wanted to be concentric circles, so he laid out the smoky quartz for energetic protection first. Then the first inner circle alternated shungite, black tourmaline, amber, and aventurine. These stones would promote healing, cleansing, letting go of trauma, and building of optimism. The next circle was a solid ring of garnet, for passion. He questioned using that much of a single stone, but every time he tried to substitute something else it just didn’t feel right. The final ring alternated bloodstone, amazonite, and carnelian. These stones promoted courage, expression of the heart’s truth, and the ability to take a leap of faith. All that was left now was to select a center stone.

He hesitated. The center stone was one of the most important elements of any grid, because it would anchor and amplify the energy of all the others. The one he instinctively _wanted_ to use was the large irregular chunk of rose quartz that Rey had given him. It was, if he was honest with himself, his favorite of all his stones. It somehow found its way into most of his grids, and the rest of the time it stood on his nightstand. It radiated a soft, delicate energy—loving and healing, strong and soothing all at once. 

Kind of like Rey.

He shook his head and put the stone firmly aside. It reminded him too much of Rey. This grid wasn’t about her, it was about him moving past his inability to show his feelings. Then he frowned and looked at it again, where it stood innocently among the other stones. If the spell was about showing his feelings, then that would include showing how he felt about Rey. His feelings for her were undeniable. He’d only even attempted to hide them because he was so sure she didn’t return them. Though, he thought with a roll of his eyes, all of his friends seemed perfectly aware of how much he loved her. Kaydel and some of the others had even tried to encourage him to speak up, saying that they thought she liked him, too.

But he knew that wasn’t true. He knew, in fact, that she was trying to get over someone. The very thought mystified him, that someone would not want to be with her. Using the crystal she gave to him might unfairly or unconsciously influence her in his favor, and he would never do that. She was his friend, but even if she wasn’t, he would never risk calling someone to him via magic. 

Still, the crystal seemed to call to him, gently coaxing. He hesitated, then shook his head. No. It wouldn’t be right. He went through the rest of his crystals, but nothing felt quite right. Eventually he picked a clear quartz point and placed it, but then immediately recoiled as the energy of the grid clanged like two pots crashing together. He put it back and frowned. 

Still the rose quartz called to him. He picked it up. It felt cool and comfortable in his hand. As always its energy washed gently washed over him, light and bright and loving. He almost put it back, but its vibration increased as he moved his hand. He held it up to his face. 

“If you make me hurt her, I’ll grind you to dust and flush you down the toilet,” he said to it. The energy remained the same, undaunted by his very sincere threat. 

Before he could change his mind or deliberate any further, he placed the rose quartz in the center of the grid, then walked away and went to bed.

***

Rey woke the next morning to several increasingly urgent texts from her friends. She’d slept through her alarm, and was late to brunch. She didn’t bother reading all of them, sure that they’d all be versions of “where are you” and “get your ass here and drink your share of the mimosas.” She shot out of bed and got ready hurriedly and distractedly. She’d dreamed of Ben all night, one dream after another. Some were racy, some romantic, all beautiful and enticing. No wonder she’d slept through her alarm—she hadn’t wanted to wake up. It troubled her, though, that she’d dreamed of him so continually on the night she had performed a spell in the hopes of getting over him. Had the spell backfired?

She burst into the little restaurant where her friends were and dropped unceremoniously into a chair. “Sorry I’m late!” she said. “Slept through my alarm, and then I’m sure I got behind every slow walker in the city between my apartment and this restaurant. So: how are we all feeling?”

When no one answered (or passed her a drink), Rey finally looked around at her coven. They were all staring at her—some in consternation, some in suppressed amusement, some in concern. 

“Rey, sweetie, did you not get our messages?” Rose asked, her voice uncharacteristically gentle. Rey’s anxiety spiked. Rose never called her “sweetie” unless something catastrophic was on the horizon. 

“I saw that I had a bunch of texts, but I thought you were all just checking on me?” She looked around at everyone’s faces again. Poe’s face was particularly worrying, because he looked positively gleeful, and nothing pleased Poe more than general mischief. 

“Something’s up with Ben,” Finn cut in. “He’s acting _super_ weird. Said you two were lovers? Insisted we call him Kylo Ren, which is the most ridiculous fucking thing I’ve ever heard. And the way he was dressing—” Finn’s eyes widened and he looked away as if in secondhand embarrassment. “You should be forewarned. He was here waiting for you earlier and was, uh, a little concerned that you weren’t here on time. He left shortly before you got here, and he said he was headed to your place.”

“That’s funny, I should’ve seen him then. What was wrong with the way he was—”

Rey looked up toward the door and no longer needed to ask her question. There stood Ben, just inside the restaurant. All eyes were fixed on him, but he stared only at her. He wore skin-tight black pleather pants, snakeskin boots, a black button-down shirt, a black waistcoat, and a black blazer. He even wore a black silk cravat.

“Are you being Crowley for Halloween?” asked a girl seated at one of the tables near the door, clearly eying the way the pleather stretched around Ben’s thighs. Rey felt an irrational wave of jealous rage. 

That was strange. Rey felt jealousy like any person, but not usually like that. What was wrong with her? And _what_ had possessed Ben to dress like that? When she turned her eyes back to him, she found him giving her a wicked smirk. He stalked forward, hips swaying with every step. He only stopped when they were almost nose to nose. Rey held her breath, hardly knowing what to think. 

“Don’t worry about her, baby. She’s just curious. But I only have eyes for you.” Before Rey could even process that Ben had called her “baby,” he leaned forward and touched her nose with his. He leaned back just a little to appreciate the effect this had on her expression. “I got dressed up to look sexy for you. Do you like it?”

“I—um—It’s—”

“Don’t be shy, tell me: do I make you horny, baby?”

“_What_?” Rey’s whole body flooded with embarrassment. She felt her face turn bright red, and her heart began to pound.

Something was wrong. Something _had _to be wrong. Ben would never dress like that, never talk like that—none of this would ever happen. She was still dreaming; it was the only explanation. 

“Well? Do I?” Ben gave her another smirk and put his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. He nuzzled her behind the ear, which sent shivers running up and down her spine. He felt her tremble and tightened his arms around her. He said again, in a low rumble, “Do I make you horny?”

“I—” She couldn’t possibly answer that question honestly. She couldn’t possibly take him seriously when he was wearing honest to God pleather pants and quoting _Austin Powers_. This whole situation was preposterous. 

Even more preposterous, though, was that the answer was still _yes, very, extremely_, pleather pants and all. 

She leaned back to tell him off, to ask what the _hell_ had gotten into him, maybe even to slap him and see if he’d snap out of it. But when she did she caught sight of his beautiful eyes only long enough to change her mind and think “fuck it,” before he closed what tiny distance there still was between them and kissed her.

Rey had naturally imagined kissing Ben many, many times. She’d always imagined it would be a soft, sweet kiss, or maybe even an impulsive kiss in the middle of one of their debates. She had never imagined that she would be fully making out with Ben and that they’d be grinding on each other in the middle of a trendy hipster restaurant while the other patrons tried to politely ignore them and enjoy their bottomless mimosas. 

Ben’s kissing style was so ravenous, so filthy and unrepentantly sexual, that every rational thought immediately flew out of Rey’s head. She gave as good as she got, tugging on his hair and immediately wrapping her legs around his waist when he lifted her onto a barstool. She shoved his blazer off his shoulders, ripped the buttons on his waistcoat, and had his shirt tugged halfway up his torso before the girl from earlier yelled, “_Get it girl!_” in encouragement, and unwittingly shocked Rey back to her senses.

“Yes, Rey, get me,” Ben urged against her neck, grabbing her hands and placing them back on the bared skin of his stomach. 

“Okay party people!” Poe materialized seemingly from nowhere and tugged Ben back and away from a shell-shocked Rey. He glanced down at the front of Ben’s pants for a fraction of a second and whistled. “Whew, that is _intimidating_.”

Ben frowned and tried to shove Poe off him, but Poe held firm. “Now, now, this here is a family establishment. And you are both acting like you got a whiff of sex pollen or something. This is weird. Until we figure out what’s going on, no humping each other in front of everyone’s fruit salads. Okay?”

“Okay,” said Rey, shamefaced. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ben stiffen his spine, but he made no argument. 

“Rey, did anything go wrong with your spell? Did anything strange happen last night?” asked Poe. Rey shook her head, then turned to Ben.

“Ben? How about you?” she asked

He stalked forward again, ignoring Poe, and lifted her chin with a finger. He winked. “Not Ben—Kylo Ren’s my name now. Ben Solo was weak and foolish, and _boring. _No wonder you couldn’t love him. But don’t worry, baby. Kylo’s here. It’s just us now.”

Every member of her coven was either throwing their hands in the air or holding their heads in their hands in frustration. Everyone but Rey, who was pointing an accusing finger at the so-called Kylo Ren’s chest.

“Now look here you interloping motherfucker, you get out of my friend’s body before I come in there after you. Do you understand me? What are you: demon, ghost, fae? I don’t care. I will _slaughter_ you.”

But Kylo only kissed the tip of her nose. “So ferocious. That’s just one of the reasons I love you. But don’t worry. I’m me, baby. I’m just new and improved! Nobody living in here but the same old soul as always. It just took a nice strong crystal grid to shake off all that ‘oh I’m so traumatized no one will ever understand me,’ _boring-boring-boring_ stuff and actually make a move on the girl I love. You.” 

He moved to kiss her again, but she put a finger to his lips. Undaunted by this, he began covering her hand with tiny kisses. Rey, relieved they were finally getting somewhere, made sure that Ben’s eyes were closed before she turned to Poe. She gave him a thumbs up with her free hand. He looked dubious, but nodded.

“Kylo darling,” she said sweetly. At the sound of the endearment he immediately stopped kissing her hand and opened his eyes. He looked at her with such bright joy, and with such a sweet, hopeful smile, that Rey felt her heart stutter in her chest. “Would you show me this crystal grid? It’s just—I’d like to see it. You’re so good at grids. Maybe you could teach me?”

“Me too!” piped up Rose. “You know I’ve been wanting to learn more about the way you do your grids, B-Kylo.”

“And me!” said Poe. “Nobody does a grid like you do.”

Ben shook his head. “Sorry, guys. Private lessons only.” He waggled his eyebrows at Rey, who couldn’t help giggling.

“Don’t encourage him,” Poe scolded. 

“We can show them just this one grid, right? Then they’ll leave. You can show me your apartment.” Rey tugged on his hand and gave him what she hoped were puppy eyes. Ben’s face softened and he gave her a smile so like his usual Ben-smile and so unlike his Kylo-smirk that Rey almost wanted to cry. 

“But Rey, you’ve already been to my apartment. Lots of times,” said Ben, feigning ignorance.

“Not your bedroom, I haven’t.” She imitated the eyebrow waggle he gave her earlier.

“Oh behave!” he chuckled, clearly wanting her to do anything but.

“Come on, darling. Just one grid. It’s for the good of the coven.”

“Anything for you, baby,” he sighed dramatically, bringing her hand to rest over his heart.

Ben kept hold of Rey’s hand and lead the way out of the restaurant, Poe and Rose following behind. The girl who had tried to flirt with Ben earlier raised her mimosa glass in toast to Rey as they walked past. Rey, embarrassed but also a little pleased, gave her a small wave. 

Ben’s apartment wasn’t far from the restaurant, but was in the opposite direction from Rey’s. Ben made a scene as they entered his building, insisting on carrying her across the threshold and then refusing to put her down even as they rode the elevator to his apartment on the eleventh floor. He refused to put her down until they entered his apartment, and even then she could tell he only did so reluctantly. 

Without missing a beat, Rose swept into the apartment and ran straight to Ben’s altar on the far side of the living room. She swept an arm across the grid, displacing all of the stones. “That’s quite enough from all of you,” she said.

The effect was instantaneous. Ben’s face fell, and he staggered back, putting a hand to his chest. When he looked up his eyes were filled with genuine horror. His pupils were dilated as wide as a terrified cat’s, and his breath came in gasps. Rey became increasingly worried that he’d pass out or have a heart attack. His eyes landed on hers for a split second, and then he turned violently toward the altar. Rose jumped out of his way, but it wasn’t her he was angry with. He seized the large bit of rose quartz she had given him, and just as he made to throw it she cried out—

“Don’t!”

He dropped the stone, letting it fall harmlessly onto the carpet. She caught only a glimpse of his tortured face, with its clenched jaw, bright red cheeks, and tearful eyes, before he turned away from all of them. The slump of his shoulders spoke of deep humiliation. 

Silence fell in the apartment, unbroken for several minutes. 

Finally, Rey turned toward Poe and Rose, and indicated the door with a nod of her head. They both silently nodded, then left. Poe shut the door softly behind him. 

“Come and sit down, Ben.”

He jumped at the sound of her voice, and half turned. Then he thought better of it at the last second and stayed facing away from her. “I thought you left, too,” he said in a voice roughened with the effort not to cry. 

She gave him another moment’s silence, then walked up and took his hand in hers again. She lead him slowly to the couch, and made him sit down. Then she busied herself making them both a cup of tea. She really had been to his apartment many, many times, and knew her way around his kitchen as well she knew her own. While she waited for the kettle to boil, she gathered her courage. And her wits—she knew what she wanted to say, but it was a matter of saying it in such a way that Ben would listen instead of shutting down. 

When the tea was ready, she walked back into the living room bearing two cups of steaming English Breakfast. She put them both down on the coffee table, then sat next to Ben on the couch. He refused to look at her.

“We are both idiots. I never told you how I felt about you, and you never told me how you feel about me. Well, that’s over now. You said that you thought I couldn’t love you, because you were weak and foolish and boring. But you’re none of those things, and I do love you, Ben. I think you’re wonderful. I have for a long time. And I don’t know if you actually—”

The rest of her sentence was cut off by Ben throwing his arms around her and wrapping her into the tightest, warmest hug of her life. She smiled into his shoulder. 

“You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. I love you, too. And I promise you that nothing like this will ever, _ever_ happen again.”

When she laughed, Ben leaned back enough to smile at her and brush a lock of hair behind her ear. 

“I don’t know, it wasn’t all so bad. I liked the kissing.”

“Did you?” he asked. She found she liked his shy blush, with the crinkles around his eyes and the tips of his ears going red, far better than his Kylo-swagger. She nodded, and put her arms around his neck.

“I did. I was actually hoping we might try that bit again.”

This time when he kissed her it was soft, sweet, and everything she’d dreamed of. But better, because she could really feel the softness of his lips, the solidness of his arms around her, and the wild beating of her own heart. 

Ben and Rey missed their coven’s post-Samhain gathering that night. They were just too busy. First, there was a great deal of kissing to be done. And then talking, about their feelings, about themselves, about their hopes and dreams. Then it was time for dinner, a few glasses of wine, and more kissing. And after that, Rey finally made Ben keep Kylo’s promise to show her his bedroom, at which point they became far too busy to even consider leaving the apartment. 

The next morning Rey woke in Ben’s bed, warm and comfortable. It took only a fraction of a second for the memories of the previous day to return to her, and when they did she grinned into Ben’s pillow. The softness of Ben’s Egyptian cotton sheets felt luxurious under her naked skin. She turned and found saw Ben still asleep, face peaceful and relaxed. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, his forehead, and his nose until he slowly opened his eyes. 

His smile as he came awake was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. 

“Good morning,” he mumbled, weaving his arms around her and pulling her close. As she settled into his chest he made a contented _hmm_ sound, and seemed ready to fall back asleep.

“Ben, I have a question,” she said innocently. She threaded her fingers through his hair and smiled wickedly, knowing he wouldn’t see it with his eyes closed.

“Hmm?”

“You asked me something yesterday, and you got your answer well enough. But now I need to ask you.”

With an obvious effort, Ben opened his eyes and gave her his full attention. “What is it?”

“Do I make you horny, baby?”

Ben groaned and flopped dramatically back against the pillow. “Don’t fucking remind me!”

“What? It’s an honest question. Do I? Do I make you horny?” She nuzzled behind his ear the way he’d done to her the day before, then nipped at his earlobe. With a playful growl he flipped them over.

“Actions speak louder than words, Rey. Allow me to demonstrate.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this bit of ridiculousness! If you did, please do let me know. Comments absolutely make my day. You can also come say hi Twitter or Tumblr.


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